India, Japan civil nuclear deal comes into force

The landmark India-Japan civil nuclear agreement came into force. In this regard, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar exchanged the diplomatic notes with the Japanese envoy to India to formalise the completion of the process.

The deal would enable Japan to export nuclear power plant technology as well as provide finance for nuclear power plants in India. It will also assist India in nuclear waste management and could undertake joint manufacture of nuclear power plant components under the Make in India initiative.

Background

The India-Japan Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy was signed in Tokyo during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan in November 2016. Subsequently, the Japanese government also got approval from the Diet (Japanese Parliament) for the nuclear deal with India. India is the only non-Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) signatory country with which Japan has entered into a civil nuclear deal, giving recognition for India’s impeccable non-proliferation record. Till now, India has also signed civil nuclear deal with 10 other countries viz. Russia, United States, France, South Korea, Mongolia, Namibia, Argentina, Canada, Kazakhstan and Australia.

Comment

The India-Japan civil nuclear agreement reflects of the strategic partnership between India and Japan and will pave the way for enhanced cooperation in energy security and clean energy. It will also promote full cooperation between the two countries in the development and uses of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes on a stable, reliable and predictable basis.